Jet Blue Waves Fees!

Part of what I do in my work is to make sense of the world around us, given our cycling-centric view. Giving a great review to a product that’s been on the market since Fausto Coppi last won the Tour de France is just me sticking up for reliability and serviceability, ideals I believe in. Regarding other ideals, I have spoken out a lot against doping and the problems with both the dopers and the enforcement; the riders and the UCI both need to know that we are paying attention.

Every now and then someone outside of cycling throws us a bone. Jet Blue, as part of a joint promotion with Versus, is waiving its $50 fee on checked bikes for the month of July. We can take the cynical route and say, “Yeah, but they’ll absorb the loss as a marketing expense.” Let’s not.

The fees airlines charge cyclists wouldn’t seem such an outrage if we new that all other sporting equipment are hit with the same fees. Knowing we pay fees unheard of to golfers triggers my insult-to-injury response. The airline industry may be hurting, but gouging one user group won’t win any loyalty and can alienate people in a hurry.

Fares are all over the place right now, but saving $100 can make any trip more affordable. If you’re flying this month, give Jet Blue a look.

From Jet Blue’s press release:

“We continue to find ways to make the trip on JetBlue as enjoyable as the destination for our customers, and that means giving them more than the other guys — whether it’s a free checked bike to celebrate the race, more legroom, more free snacks and drinks, better customer service or more access to the most-talked about sporting events of the season,” said Sam Kline, senior analyst of Product Development for JetBlue Airways. “A lot can happen in the world of cycling on a six-hour long haul flight, but thanks to our live satellite TV programming and our dedicated channel for VERSUS this July, our customers won’t miss a minute of the action.”

“Once again VERSUS will air wall-to-wall and in-depth coverage of the Tour de France in July both super-serving hardcore cycling fans and big event viewers. We’re proud to partner with JetBlue for the sixth straight year so that sports fans can have access to one of the greatest competitions in all of sports even when they’re in the air,” said Marc Fein, Executive Vice President of Programming, Production and Business Operations for VERSUS.

In addition to its home town of New York City, JetBlue jets to some of the biggest cycling cities in the country, including: Austin, Texas; Chicago, Ill.; Denver, Colo.; Portland, Ore.; Richmond, Va.;Rochester, N.Y.; San Diego, Calif.; San Francisco, Calif.; and Seattle, Wash.

I was flying on frontier and they charged $50 each way for my bike, but my return flight was cancelled and I was put on a northwestern/Delta flight. They charged me $175!!! How can they get away with that?!?